Week 30 in film

Hot week, not a lot of films...

To the Wonder (Terrence Malick, 2012)
So, this is film is, just like The Tree of Life, beautiful. Extraordinarily beautiful at times, but for me it suffers from a lack of emotional involvement. Where the characters and their motivations absolutely struck me in his previous film, most of Malick's characters failed to interest me in this one. Especially Ben Affleck left me cold, the fact that he can't really act doesn't help, of course. In general it feels like Malick was using the plot and the people in it more as a device to ask questions, which we are used to from this director, than to actually fascinate or reach its viewer. Exception to this notion is Javier Bardem, who, as a modern priest, is suffering from a crisis. His character and his struggle did strike me but unfortunately his part is minor and farther from Affleck an Kurylenko than I was hoping for. The first half hour and final five minutes were outstanding in its imagery and editing (same formula as The New World, where this works better). In between it was hard to connect to this film. A Malick film about relationships should have had a bigger impact on me.  6.5/10


Napoleon Dynamite (Jared Hess, 2004)
Here's a Hollywood comedy that is totally different from the usual films in this genre. It feels more distant, raw and awkward and therefore it is funnier, I think. The odd Jon Heder is great and I laughed a great deal. Its weird and unfamiliair style has a flipside that the less funny parts starts to bore you quicker but all in all it is good enough.  7/10

Bob le flambeur (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1956)
Another great film from a director who looks like to be added to my list of favorites. Haven't seen a film of him lower than 8/10. Let's see if I can find one, I am expecting to have a good time. French cinema goes a long, long way.  8.5/10

Week 29 in film

Daisies (Vera Chytilova, 1966)
Not sure why this film is in so many top-lists (They Shoot Pictures..). It is original but I found it annoying, there is no plotlogic, overdone editing and the two girls we are looking at bored me really fast. 4.5/10

Millennium Mambo (Hsiao-hsien Hou, 2001)
My high expectations were rising in the brilliant opening sequence. Unfortunately there is not enough plot to keep me on this high. Some beautiful photography, but a slow pace doesn't work in this case for me. Not sure why, the good vibe is slowly dimming and fails to hit you in the face in the end as I was expecting somehow. I did love the soundtrack for especially the first hour, spot on.  7/10


Red 2 (Dean Parisot, 2013)
If you don't mind taking a film too serious and like over-the-top action this will be laugh riot. Refreshing to see an action film that is self aware of how ridiculous it is. Malkovich, Willis and Hopkins act accordingly. Yes, I had a suprisingly good time, who cares if the plot doesn't make sense :)  6.5/10

The Internship (Shawn Levy, 2013)
Showcase for 'Hollywood formulas 101'. This Google-ad has all the one-dimensional characters you expect and the plot develops accordingly. Extremely unoriginal, don't waste your money on this film, except if you don't mind a predictable, everyone-loves-each-other-even-for-the-2889788th time comedy.  2.5/10

Grown Ups 2 (Dennis Dugan, 2013)
Surprisingly....not too bad! Sandler reached rock bottom with Jack and Jill and perhaps those Razzies gave him some food for thought. His jokes are still from a doubtful level but he seems to be more aware of it. There is less plot, less moral (thank God!!) and he falls back on some good old Sandler-violence. Still has some of the bad aspects of Grown Ups but this film has less to say, therefore it is better. I had quite a good time. Salma Hayek is way too hot for Sandler, but this time he noticed himself ;-). 5.5/10


Despicable Me (Pierre Coffin a.o. , 2010)
Adorable animation but it will never become my favourite genre. It is funny, but too predictable to stand out I'm afraid.  6.5/10

Week 28 in film

Had better film weeks...

Bitter Moon (Roman Polanski, 1992)
Controversial. Roman Polanski. Could have been quite something. Especially from this director I expected at least something surprising, shocking or insightful. This film is about the super decent Hugh Grant who meets a disabled guy sharing his history which his much younger sensual wife, played by Emanuelle Seigner, Polanski's wife in real life. Most of the film tells this story, which is way way too boring for its controversial (S&M, sexual dominance) content. Dull and forgettable.  3/10


Pieta (Kim Ki Duk, 2012)
As usual, not a lot of dialogue in this latest Kim Ki Duk film. Combined with the depressing surroundings in which our protagonist terrorizes his victims as a loan shark matches the film's mood. Never felt comfortable watching this. Of course something changes when his mom arrives at the scene but somehow I couldn't care anymore. I didn't like the main character, didn't like the film. Not very bad, but this director can do so much better. 5/10

Irréversible (Gaspar Noé, 2003)
Finally I had the 'nerve' to watch this. The dvd cover warned me for extreme and realistic violence. To be honest I wasn't that shocked. The infamous rape scene is uncomfortable but doesn't reach the desired effect the director is after, at least from how I interpret this film. Some of the disorientating camera movements combined with a haunting sound design along the first scenes were effective but this effect is lost at the end of this picture.  6/10

Now You See Me (Louis Leterrier, 2013)
A movie about magicians is begging for a plot twist. This is not even a surprise nowadays. But is this a reason to make it so ridiculous? Had an ok 'Ocean's eleven' like start but slowly went downhill and not only became very improbable it also felt forced. Proves once more how hard it is to write a proper original ending. Yes, failed to do so.  4.5/10


The Notebook (Nick Cassavetes, 2004)
I guess this film can be considered classic in a way, so I decided to watch it. Not as special as I was hoping for. End of the day not much more than a standard poor boy meets rich girl story. Seen it all before. With all I mean both plot and narrative (flashback). Nevertheless pretty amusing.  5.5/10

Week 27 in film

Some great surprises last week.

Trance (Danny Boyle, 2013)
What do we know about Danny Boyle? That he excels in his use of lighting and soundtrack choice. Those are probably the only things that are good about this film. Trance could therefore be seen as a visual treat (Rosario Dawson!) but lacks in originality. The writers 'borrowed' from Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind and plot twists are so 1995!   5/10

The Terrorizers (Edward Yang, 1986)
If you want to watch a film again after you finished it it must be great. Yang shows to be a very intelligent filmmaker by presenting a very calm and compelling network narrative which, as it should, provides its viewer with more pieces of the puzzle as the film carries on. Not so much do we receive clues or facts but are we getting more and more involved emotionally and do we learn to understand the choices of the individuals. Add some stunning cinematography and several graphic similarities which I always dig. Contains a lot of elements (even a photographer) that would be in the later masterpiece Yi Yi. Only thing I didn't like so much was the ending, but a second viewing shouldn't take too long.  8.5/10


The Element of Crime (Lars von Trier, 1984)
Von Trier's debut is clearly influenced by his idol Tarkovsky. The plot has hints from Hitchcock, perhaps if von Trier would have quoted Hitchcock a bit more this would have been a better film, now it is too much style for a crime plot. His style is nevertheless impressive. 6.5/10

Two Lovers (James Gray, 2008)
The best film for this week. Joaquin Phoenix is a romantically naive photographer with suicidal tendencies who lives with his parents after his fiancee dumped him. His father introduces him to the likeable and decent daughter of a business colleague. A romance is born, but Phoenix seems to develop a weak spot for his more unstable neighbour, the beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow. A film that stands out not only in its performances, but in portraying a harsh and emotional reality. As so often in a great film, the ending makes all the difference.  9/10 

Xich Lo (Anh Hung Tran, 1995)
Vietnam's Cidade de Deus. Good film, but a bit too dark and depressive for me. Some misery is shot beautifully though, but I couldn't enjoy it as much as I could in different themes and settings.  7.5/10

Le Bonheur (Agnes Varda, 1965)
Varda's happiness has almost the same opening as my favorite The Tree of Life, at least visually. Funny how a different tone can change a film experience. Left me colder than it should, I guess.  7/10

Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, 2012)
Looks like a Manhattan-inspired exercise by Allen-adept Baumbach. Thanks to an honest and smart script co-written by its 'mumblecore' lead Greta Gerwig proves to be more than just a copy. Credit for portraying a complex and somewhat annoying lead character you slowly learn to love.  8/10